NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 vs NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparison between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 and the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm is a study in contrasting priorities. The database contains two head-to-head benchmark results, and each card claims a decisive victory in one of them. The GeForce GTX 770 wins the Geekbench Metal test with a score of 9369, while the Tesla K20Xm records 8035. This represents a 16.6% advantage for the GTX 770, a substantial margin that indicates a clear performance gap in this specific API workload. The Metal test, which is typically associated with graphics rendering and compute tasks on Apple platforms, favors the consumer-oriented card by a wide margin.

Conversely, the Geekbench OpenCL test tells an entirely different story. Here, the Tesla K20Xm scores 17215, comfortably outpacing the GTX 770's 15707. The delta percentage is -8.8% from the perspective of the GTX 770, meaning the Tesla card is 8.8% faster in this test. OpenCL is a more general-purpose compute API, and this result aligns with the Tesla product line's intended focus on professional and scientific computing workloads. The victory is not as lopsided as the GTX 770's Metal win, but it is still a clear and meaningful performance lead for the K20Xm.

Looking at the broader average benchmark scores, the picture becomes more nuanced. The GTX 770 has an average benchmark score of 14747 across all recorded tests, while the Tesla K20Xm trails with an average of 12625. This places the GTX 770 in the 57th percentile of all GPUs in the database, whereas the Tesla K20Xm sits in the 52nd percentile. The GTX 770's average score is higher, but this metric is skewed by the presence of the Metal test, where the Tesla card performs poorly relative to its OpenCL result. The GTX 770's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (average score 14692, a 0.4% delta) and the NVIDIA Quadro M2000 (average score 14532, a 1.5% delta). The Tesla K20Xm, on the other hand, is closely matched with the AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT (average score 12710, a -0.7% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (average score 12773, a -1.2% delta).

Architecture Differences

The two cards share a common architectural foundation but diverge significantly in their implementation. Both are built on NVIDIA's Kepler architecture, utilizing the same 28 nm manufacturing process at TSMC. The GeForce GTX 770 is based on the GK104 chip, which contains 3,540 million transistors on a die size of 294 mm². This yields a transistor density of 12.0 million transistors per square millimeter. In contrast, the Tesla K20Xm uses the larger GK110 chip, packing 7,080 million transistors onto a die measuring 561 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. The GK110 is fundamentally a more complex and powerful silicon, designed for high-end compute workloads.

The compute resources reflect this difference. The Tesla K20Xm features 2688 shading units, 224 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 48 raster operation units (ROPs). The GeForce GTX 770, by comparison, has 1536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This means the Tesla card has roughly 75% more shading units and 75% more TMUs, while also having 50% more ROPs. Consequently, the theoretical peak performance figures favor the Tesla card. The K20Xm achieves 3.935 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, a texture rate of 164.0 GTexel/s, and a pixel rate of 40.99 GPixel/s. The GTX 770 delivers 3.333 TFLOPS, 138.9 GTexel/s, and 34.72 GPixel/s. While the GTX 770 is no slouch, the Tesla's raw throughput numbers are uniformly higher.

Memory configuration is another key differentiator. The GeForce GTX 770 comes with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, running at an effective speed of 7 Gbps. This yields a memory bandwidth of 224.4 GB/s. The Tesla K20Xm, however, is equipped with 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a wider 384-bit bus, operating at 5.2 Gbps effective. The wider bus compensates for the lower clock speed, resulting in a memory bandwidth of 249.6 GB/s, which is 11% higher than the GTX 770. The larger memory capacity is critical for compute workloads that require large datasets to reside on the GPU. Clock speeds also differ, with the GTX 770 having a base clock of 1046 MHz and a boost clock of 1085 MHz, while the Tesla K20Xm's base and boost clocks are not recorded in the database.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data indicates a clear split in use cases. The GeForce GTX 770's victory in the Metal test (16.6% ahead) suggests it is the better choice for graphics-oriented tasks that leverage Apple's Metal API. This could include gaming, creative applications, and other visual workloads where Metal is the primary interface. The GTX 770 also has display outputs (2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2), making it a functional graphics card for direct display connection. The Tesla K20Xm, with its "No outputs" designation, is not intended for any form of direct display or interactive graphics work.

The Tesla K20Xm's win in the OpenCL test (8.8% ahead) points to its strength in general-purpose compute. OpenCL is widely used in scientific simulation, data analysis, and engineering applications. The K20Xm's higher shading unit count and larger memory capacity (6 GB vs 2 GB) are advantageous for these workloads, allowing for more parallel threads and larger data buffers. The higher memory bandwidth also helps in memory-intensive compute tasks. The Tesla's position in the Tesla Kepler (Kxx) generation, with predecessors and successors in the Tesla Fermi and Tesla Maxwell lines, confirms its role as a dedicated compute accelerator, not a consumer graphics product.

The average benchmark scores further reinforce this split. The GTX 770's higher average (14747 vs 12625) is largely due to its strong Metal performance, which is a feature that the Tesla card lacks in terms of competitive scoring. The GTX 770's percentile rank of 57 versus the Tesla's 52 indicates that, across all GPUs in the database, the GTX 770 is more competitive overall. However, this is a broad metric that does not account for the specialized nature of the Tesla card. For a user whose primary workload is OpenCL compute, the K20Xm's 8.8% advantage in that specific test is more relevant than the aggregate average.

The Verdict

The data presents a straightforward verdict for each card's intended audience. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 is the superior choice for any workload that involves the Metal API or requires a card with display outputs. Its 16.6% lead in Metal performance is decisive, and its ability to output to monitors makes it a versatile component for a desktop system. The GTX 770 also holds a higher average benchmark score (14747) and a better percentile ranking (57th), suggesting it is generally more capable across a variety of tasks. Its launch MSRP was 399 USD, which reflects its positioning as a high-end consumer graphics card.

The NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm is the better option for pure compute workloads that rely on OpenCL. Its 8.8% advantage in that test, combined with its larger memory pool (6 GB) and higher theoretical compute throughput (3.935 TFLOPS FP32), makes it a more capable tool for scientific and professional compute applications. The 7,699 USD launch MSRP reflects its enterprise-grade positioning. Users who do not need display outputs and will be running compute-heavy code should favor the K20Xm. For anyone else, the GTX 770 offers a better balance of performance, particularly in graphics-oriented benchmarks, at a significantly lower launch price. The choice hinges entirely on whether the workload is graphics-centric (GTX 770) or compute-centric (Tesla K20Xm).

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher score in the Geekbench Metal test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 has a score of 9369, which is 16.6% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm's score of 8035.

Q: Which GPU performs better in OpenCL compute workloads?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm scores 17215 in the Geekbench OpenCL test, which is 8.8% higher than the GeForce GTX 770's score of 15707.

Q: What is the difference in memory capacity between the two cards?

A: The GeForce GTX 770 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the Tesla K20Xm has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Which card has display outputs?

A: The GeForce GTX 770 has 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. The Tesla K20Xm has no display outputs.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The GeForce GTX 770 has an average benchmark score of 14747, while the Tesla K20Xm has an average score of 12625.

Q: What is the transistor count for each chip?

A: The GeForce GTX 770's GK104 chip has 3,540 million transistors, and the Tesla K20Xm's GK110 chip has 7,080 million transistors.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 | NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Chip | GK104 | GK110 |

| Generation | GeForce 700 | Tesla Kepler (Kxx) |

| Transistors | 3,540 million | 7,080 million |

| Die Size | 294 mm² | 561 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.0M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1046 MHz | Not recorded |

| Boost Clock | 1085 MHz | Not recorded |

| Memory Clock | 7 Gbps effective | 5.2 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.4 GB/s | 249.6 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 2688 |

| TMUs | 128 | 224 |

| ROPs | 32 | 48 |

| Pixel Rate | 34.72 GPixel/s | 40.99 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 138.9 GTexel/s | 164.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Compute | 3.333 TFLOPS | 3.935 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 230 W | 235 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | Not recorded |

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 | No outputs |

| Release Date | 2013-05-29 | 2012-11-11 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 600 | Tesla Fermi |

| Successor | GeForce 900 | Tesla Maxwell |

| Launch MSRP | 399 USD | 7,699 USD |